Open The Walls
by Sassassassin
Summary: "Don't go out at night alone. Things are not as nice in the dark." "What things?" [Dark AU, happy-ish ending]
1. Curiosity Killed the Cat

_Hey girl, open the walls, play with your dolls – Dollhouse, Melanie Martinez_

-: :-

* * *

 **Part I - Curiosity Killed the Cat**

* * *

-: :-

It had started when her mother had left them.

The big mansion got uncomfortably silent, and her father got uncomfortably distant, burying himself in his work inside of his office.

The little tapping began in her dining room.

The large area seemed even bigger without her mother's chatty voice, and her father's equally as eager replies, usually followed by Lucy's giggles.

Ms. Spetto had put a plate in front of her, leaving her for more important chores. The plate stood untouched, the steaming fish now cold, and Lucy liked to think that if Happy were real, he would devour it.

A little noise caught her eager attention, bringing something new to discover in her monotonous routine.

 _Wake up, eat, get ready for school, sit in class, go to recess, go back to class, go home, practice piano, eat, get ignored by father, and go to sleep._

The curious noises from within the dining room's wall were a welcome disturbance.

With great difficulty, she jumped from the high chair and stumbled down, falling on her butt. She swore that she could hear a childish chuckle resonate, accompanied by a louder thud. She crawled to the wall, pressing an eager ear against it, when she heard it again, right where her ear was.

 _Thud._

"Hello?" she whispered.

The noise started again, a few feet from where she was crouching on her knees, and she crawled once again, following it. When she pressed her ear in the new spot, the noise resonated from a few feet away, and she was forced to stand up to follow it again, as it was a bit higher up. Soon enough, her little friend had her running along four walls, her laughs echoing through the room while she followed the curious noise.

"What's going on here?"

The noise abruptly stopped, and Lucy's head whipped around. Ms. Spetto stood at the door, glaring disapprovingly at her.

"Why are you running around? That's not the behaviour of a good little lady. Cease this childish entertainment at once, your dad wouldn't be happy."

Lucy frowned, putting her head down, a curtain of blonde hair hiding her distraught face.

"I apologize, Ms. Spetto."

"And you haven't eaten!" gasped the maid. "A proper lady always finishes what's on her plate!"

Lucy huffed, glaring at her shoes in frustration. _Why do I have to be a good lady? Why why why?_

"Now eat your food. That plate better be empty when I'm back."

The elder woman exited through the door, and Lucy was left standing in the middle of the dining room. It was silent for a moment, and Lucy turned around, raising a fist towards the wall. She hesitated for a moment, gulping down, before softly knocking on it.

"Are you still there?"

The walls stayed quiet, and Lucy disappointedly put her arm down.

She finished her plate in the heavy familiar silence that always surrounded her.

-: :-

The little tapping in her walls returned a few days later.

 _Thump_.

The noise wasn't as playful as when she heard it in the dining room. It was loud, precise, and menacing.

At night, hearing that was slightly more worrisome for a little girl who was prone to nightmares and to believing that monsters lived underneath her bed. It was worrisome especially when she knew that no one would be able to help her if something dangerous was lurking within the confines of the four walls surrounding her.

Lucy shivered at the prospect of sleeping in the room while something was keeping her company in the huge mansion. Her mother's soothing voice no longer there to lull her to sleep, she had no choice but to lay in a bed far too big for her small frame, surrounded by the cold dull white covers and absolute silence.

At least Happy was there to keep her company.

"I'll protect you, Happy."

The little fuzz ball's emotionless eyes stared at her, and she could swear that the blue cat's ears twitched in a comforting gesture, acknowledging her caring words. She took hold of the white wings sporting its back, and wrapped them around her waist, securing them with the sticky ends. The soft material of the plushy resting against her chest calmed her racing heart, much like when her mother would whisper gentle words in her ear following a particularly frightening nightmare.

" _Hush little Lucy, there's nothing to be scared of, I'm here with you."_

A soft tear slid down the young child's pale cheek, disappearing in the pillow underneath her hair. She held Happy closer to her body, wrapping herself around it. The fright she had earlier part of history, she got engrossed in the memory of long blonde hair and warm brown eyes staring down at her, a soft smile stretching the woman's lips.

 _Thump._

The noise made her jump, and she looked up at the wall behind her bed for its source. The soft blue wallpaper was a dull grey in the darkness of the night, its colour barely visible due to the moonlight outside of her window. Her heart had resumed its erratic beating against her fragile chest, and she chuckled to herself.

"There's nothing there Happy, see? Nothing to be scared-"

A creak was emitted from within the same wall, sounding like a high pitched screech like those the kids in her class would mockingly make while running their dirty fingernails against the board to antagonize the girls.

How she hated the noise, and how she hated the way its reverberation would pierce at her ear-drums.

She wailed softly, watching as a shadow passed on the wall. She quickly grabbed the covers laying around her chest and hid her whole body underneath, muttering encouraging words in her cat's inanimate ear. The noise seemed to be approaching her, coming from the headboard this time, followed by ruffling of the numerous pillows decorating it.

When the noise ceased, she tightly closed her eyes, praying for whoever – _or whatever_ \- was in her room to leave her and let her sleep in peace. All she could hear for a few seconds were the shallow gasps of breath coming from her mouth, which she closed in fear of being heard.

Nothing would happen to her, it was a rule that anyone was protected from danger while underneath their covers.

Lucy half wished that the noise would be back to tell her that it was still stuck within the confines of the wall. But instead of the noise, Lucy felt the caress of a hand on the few strands of hair that had escaped the covers, reminding her of her late mother's soft fingers threading through her locks. The gesture seemed oddly familiar, as if the person had observed her mother do it to her numerous times.

Lucy almost reached for the hand, wishing that it belonged to Layla, when she gasped in pain as the hand forcefully tugged at a lock.

This definitely _wasn't_ her mother's soothing caress.

Her hands shot to grab the offending limb, and she came in contact with hot hard skin, covered with what seemed to be a scaly surface, and sporting claws that dug in her wrist when she attempted to push it away and free her hair.

Lucy felt hot, and she couldn't breathe.

She hastily pushed the covers away from her face to grab the arm with both hands, her eyes still tightly closed, and her mouth open in a silent scream.

" _ **You're not lonely enough,"**_ a voice whispered _ **.**_

When it finally released her hair, her hand rubbed at the stretched skin of her scalp. She looked up, eyes glistening and wide with fear, but all she saw was a flash of red light.

The strong smell of smoke infiltrated her nose, and she had to put a hand on her face to block its nauseating odor.

She lay there, looking around the room in fear, and trembling while clutching Happy to her chest. This wasn't the same playful attitude from the previous days, this had hurt. Her little friend was bullying her.

That night, only exhaustion forced her to sleep.

-: :-

She complained to her father about nightmares, fearing that he would laugh at her, or worse, ignore her if she told him that someone-something- was in her room. She almost wished that he would tell her to sleep with him in his room within his comforting arms. She used to sleep in between her parents when her mother was still with them, but her father would be enough this time.

"Leave me alone. I don't have time for your childish complaints, don't you see that I'm busy?"

Lucy swallowed the lump in her throat, and looked up at her father with glistening and pleading eyes.

"Please, father, I can't sleep at night. _Please_."

Her father's dark eyes stared at her with a menacing gleam in his orbs.

"For the last time, _leave_."

She nodded, holding back the tears that threatened to spill, and turned around to run out of the room. She slid down the wall outside of her father's study, crying thick tears.

 _Thump._

The noise was right next to her ear, and Lucy couldn't help but jump in fear, hastily standing up and backing away from the wall with her eyes wide, fearing that something might reach for her through it.

 _Thump Thump._

She quickly turned around, running away to the kitchen where she knew that some servants would be.

For some curious reason, the noise only happened when she was alone.

That night, Ms. Spetto had agreed to sleep with her in her room.

* * *

 _Hello! This is a new project of mine, and this is kind of like an intro more than a chapter._

 _It's a story in three parts that I thought about while watching the video for Dollhouse, and while reading a Stephen King book, my favourite author._

 _I have a knack for creepy and terrifying stories, and this one is going to get even more scary in the following two parts._

 _The story is already finished, the next part will be up in a few days :)_

 _Thank you for reading, leave a review to tell me what you think about it!_


	2. (Un)lost

-: :-

* * *

 **Part II - (Un)lost**

* * *

-: :-

Lucy was sitting in the restroom, an open book on the table in front of her.

Her piano lesson had ended a few minutes earlier, and she was glad that she would spare some time to do her math homework. Algebra was a bit hard for her, and a drop in her grades would not please _father_.

She was hunched over the textbook, staring at the letters mingled with the numbers and wondering _why the hell one would mix those two together_ when she heard it.

 _Thump._

The familiar noise made her jump in her seat. She had not heard it in years, and it had completely escaped her mind.

She turned around, staring at the wall closest to her.

 _Thump thump._

The noise was a bit farther this time, and she giggled at the memory of her seven year old self running around the dining room. The sound was oddly comforting, despite the fear the thing had given her that night all those years ago.

"Are you there?"

A chuckle resonated in the room, somewhere Lucy wasn't able to pinpoint. It seemed to be coming from all around, sounding like a boy going through puberty.

"Who are you?"

Lucy was met with silence, and after a few minutes of intense concentration, she reluctantly went back to her textbook. She started humming to herself, hoping that it would make the noise come back, and whatever was making it a bit chattier.

What occurred was even more surprising.

The piano behind her came to life, and the soft melody of the same song she was humming rose inside the room. She gasped in surprise, wondering how the _thing_ would know a song her mother had played for her nearly seven years ago.

Either it could read her mind, or it had been watching her for far longer than she thought.

She rose up, making her way towards the instrument, and sat down in front of it, looking at the keys being pressed by no fingers. Lucy knew that she should be alarmed; there was _ghost_ or a _demon_ or _whatever_ _it was_ alone with her, but it was oddly comforting to hear the familiar melody being played to such perfection.

She put her fingers against the keys, and was met with incredible warmth. It was as if someone had lit them on fire, but it surprisingly didn't burn her. It was odd to feel the keys move underneath her fingers without pressing on them. She lightly giggled, removing her hand and closing her eyes to fully enjoy the song.

She was jolted awake when the E5 key was pressed, loud and clear. Because it wasn't part of the song, Lucy knew that it was done on purpose to wake her up. She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep, but the melody had been soft and nostalgic, and she couldn't help herself.

She stood up, running her fingers on the keys, and smiling softly. "Thank you."

Her textbook still laid on the table, and she sighed in defeat, remembering that she had to go through a few more sets of problems. She sat down in front of it, opening her notebook to write, but was stopped in her tracks by what she saw. In the middle of the page was a big _SORRY_ written across the problems she had already done. She instantly knew who had written it.

"What are you sorry for?" she whispered, looking around.

 _Scratch scratch._

 _SCARING YOU_

 _LEAVING_

She smiled, running her finger across the words.

"I forgive you."

-: :-

The _thump thump_ in her walls didn't stop after that day, and Lucy found it to be a welcome addition to her life.

Whatever was in her house was playful, and loved to prank her by pulling at her hair when she got too close to the walls, or by pushing anything she put on a table until it fell on the ground. Ms. Spetto was not happy to see multiple vases and glasses in pieces, and was even less happy to clean after Lucy's friend, assuming that the girl was simply clumsy.

Because the young teenager didn't have any friends, she was always eager to go back home and play with the friendly guest.

One day, she was walking around the city, an ice cream cone clutched tightly in her hand. For any fifteen year old, it would be a normal occurrence to indulge in one's pleasures from time to time, but for a rich heiress like her, leaving her house was very _unusual_ , especially alone.

She had snuck out, plain and simple.

And she regretted it.

Lucy was lost, and it was late. She could see the sun starting to set, but she could not see anything familiar. The ice cream in her hand was melting off, and she threw it when she passed by a trash can. Next to it was a bench on which she sat on for a moment, trying to recollect her thoughts and stop panicking.

"You'd think it would be easy to find a huge mansion," she muttered to herself. "Father is going to kill me."

"Hey girly, are you lost?"

She shuddered in fear when she looked behind her and was met by the sight of three men approaching, their eyes scanning her body with perverted appreciation. They were slightly older, probably in college, and were smiling down menacingly at her while holding what were obviously bottles of alcohol in their hands.

"No, I'm going home," she stuttered out, getting up to put some distance between them and herself.

"Hey it's okay, we can take you _home_ , if you know what I mean," one of them laughed crudely.

"No I'm okay, I'll go by myself."

Once of them, the blond one, threw away the bottle in his hands. "Come on, it's dangerous for a little girl to walk outside alone at night. We'll help you."

"No, I said I was _fine,_ " she insisted, starting to panic.

The blond man stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in fear. His eyes weren't scanning her body like they previously were, but were staring behind her at something that seemed to scare him. His companions had the same look on their faces.

"Um, alright miss. Sorry to bother you, have a nice night."

Lucy watched them scurry, confusion written on her face, and looked behind her to see why they were so scared.

"Are you alright?"

A young man around her age stood there, looking at her with worry. He had pink hair, dark eyes, and a scaly scarf was wrapped around his neck despite the hot temperature at this time of the year.

"Yeah, thank you."

"I haven't done anything."

She looked at him in confusion, and he chuckled, giving her a toothy grin, and she wondered how a seemingly inoffensive teenager could scare them off. He was the perfect picture of innocence, especially with his pink coloured hair.

"Then why-"

"Don't go out at night alone," he interrupted her. "Things are not as nice in the dark."

She looked up at the sky. The sun was indeed almost completely set, teasingly peaking from the horizon, and darkness was falling upon the streets.

"What things?"

But the boy had disappeared.

-: :-

Lucy laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her father had not been very tolerant when she had come back home late that night. She had finally found her way back after asking a lady working at a store for direction, mentally thanking her profusely when she was graced by the sight of the all too familiar gates of the mansion.

She had tried to sneak in, but Ms. Spetto had apparently notified her father of her disappearance. She had been viciously scolded, and the stinging in her cheek was only a reminder of her father's intolerance.

The book she had attempted to read when she went to bed earlier was sitting on her stomach, opened but unread. The image of the boy that she was sure had saved her was imprinted in her mind, his chuckle resonating in her ears. It was an oddly familiar one, almost comforting, and she was sure she had heard it before.

She removed the book from her lap and set it on the bedside table, and tucked herself in to sleep. The light coming from the night light was dim, but it was enough for her. She had gained the unpleasant habit of not being able to sleep without it after that night all those years ago. She had wanted to turn it off, but the prospect of sleeping in the dark alone made her shiver with fear.

 _Thump thump._

Lucy smiled to herself. Her little companion's tapping noise often lulled her to sleep, and unlike all those years ago, having something watch over her made her feel secure. She sighed, patting her pillow, and buried her face in it to attempt to fall asleep.

-: :-

A few hours into the night, she was jolted awake when she heard a loud screeching noise. She blinked, surprised when she was met with darkness, and furrowed her eyebrows. She _always_ left her light on when she went to sleep, and she had _never_ forgotten it before.

Her arm shot up, blindly trying to find the light switch next to her bed. When she came in contact with it, she pressed the button, but her room stayed bathed in the dark. The bulb must have burned out.

She rubbed her tired eyes, cursing whomever was responsible for her current demise. She took a deep breath to calm her racing heart when the reality of the situation started to creep up on her; she was in the darkness of her room, a situation she had not been in since the accident. She shuddered in apprehension, wondering if staying like that would allow her to fall asleep and forget about the darkness, when the noise alerted her once again. It was the unmistakable noise of her closet's door opening.

 _Screech._

Her heart started beating erratically in her chest, reminding her of that once time she was stuck in the same situation. She grabbed Happy, the only plushy she had kept throughout her childhood and teenage years –a gift from her mother-, and clutched it tightly to her chest.

Panic took over her, and she felt like a child all over again: terrified and powerless.

The screeching sound had stopped, a sign that her closet was fully open, and she tightly shut her eyes, wishing it were over. But against her wish, it was followed by the sound of someone walking through the room. It wasn't like her light steps, or the confident steps of her father, or the heavy ones of Ms. Spetto. The noise it made was like the sound her nails made when she would repeatedly tap them against the table, irritating her father in the rare occasions they would dine together: the thing's feet were clawed.

She wrapped her pink blanket around her body, her nails digging into Happy's soft fur. She could feel herself on the verge of tears, and she bit her lower lip to stop the whine threatening to leave her mouth from escaping.

When the sound came close to the foot of her bed, it suddenly stopped, and Lucy held her breath. She shut her eyes tightly and brought her knees up to her chest when the end of her bed suddenly dipped, and she gasped when she felt the warmth coming from the other body reach her bare legs underneath her covers.

The thing was incredibly hot.

It climbed on top of her bed, making it dip down even further, and she felt a clawed hand push her on her back. She could sense its body hovering over hers, and a warm breath fan over her face, making the strands hair on her forehead move around. The all too familiar smell of smoke was also present, tickling her nose unpleasantly.

A rough hand ran through her locks, and a clawed finger ran down her forehead and her cheek, finally resting on her neck. The claw dug slightly into her skin, and she opened her eyes, meeting dark orbs. A face was hovering over hers, and its mouth was stretched into a cruel smirk, showing sharp fangs. The man's –thing's- hair was light, but she could not distinguish its colour in the darkness of her room. The most surprising thing about it were the two horns peeking from between the wild strands of hair.

Lucy was paralyzed with horror, staring at the man's face with her eyes wide open. Happy was clutched in her hand, and the man's claw was still digging in her throat. He shot her an amused look, and dipped his head down, dangerously close to her lips. _Am I going to lose my first kiss to a demon? Please let this be a nightmare, I want to wake up, please please please-_

The thing dug its teeth into her throat, and she cried in agony, releasing Happy and putting her palms against the monster's chest to push it away from her, but the searing pain in her neck made her feel weaker than normal.

" _ **It's over for you, dear Luce."**_

Its deep voice whispered the terrifying words into her ear, and she screamed loudly, thrashing around and kicking with her legs, which were stuck between his. She miraculously managed to free herself from its grasp by tumbling down the bed, hitting her head on the floor. The adrenaline coursing through her veins from the fear allowed her to momentarily ignore it, and she crawled on the floor towards the door. She was almost there when she felt its hand wrap around her ankle, claws digging in the sensitive skin, and cursed her room for being so big because _she was close, oh so close-_

Despite the pain, she kept crawling until her palm could touch the door. She extended her arm, grabbing the handle and pushing herself up. The assailant's hand was still wrapped around her ankle, and the thing was crawling on the floor right behind her. She seemed to have weakened him or hurt him in some way, because she was sure that he would have caught her by now.

Her hand aimlessly touched the wall beside the door, searching for the light switch to know exactly what was grabbing her, when the thing got up with a groan, stopping her arm by slamming it against the wall. Her free hand aimlessly reached in front of her, and came in contact with the soft fabric of something wrapped around the thing's neck that she clutched tightly. Its face came close to hers once again, and she was reminded of its fangs digging into her skin, and the wetness running down her throat that she suspected was blood.

" _ **You're alone, you're so alone. Your loneliness tastes heavenly. I grow with your loneliness, I feed on your loneliness."**_

The words were whispered to her in a sickeningly rejoiced tone, and she could feel the hot breath of the creature on her face with each and every one of them.

With as much strength as her fifteen year old body could muster, she dipped her head back and brought it in front of her, hitting the thing in the forehead. The hand she had against the wall was momentarily freed, and she reached for the light switch, turning the lights on.

When her terrified gaze met the brightness of the room, the thing was gone, but the pressures on her neck and arm were still there.

Her trembling body collapsed on the floor against the wall. She brought her knees up to her chest, crying tears of relief. Her heart was doing somersaults in her chest, and she clutched it, wondering if that was what a panic attack felt like.

She had never been more terrified that in that instant.

She looked down on her lap, and noticed that she was clutching some sort of fabric.

It was a scarf, a soft white scaled scarf. The same one the pink haired boy was wearing.

-: :-

"I need a lamp, preferably two."

Ms. Spetto looked at Lucy with surprise. "Why?"

"I only have a night light, and it gave up on me yesterday," she shrugged.

"Okay, but why two?" asked the maid, putting the cup she was washing down to give Lucy her undivided attention.

Lucy huffed in annoyance, fidgeting in her spot. "Symmetry."

The older woman gave her a confused look.

"I want one on each side of my bed, you know, to keep it symmetric, cause' I have two nightstands."

Ms. Spetto stared at her for a few moments. _What a spoiled kid_.

"I'll see with your father."

Lucy looked up angrily at her, clenching her hands into fists. "No, I need them now, or I won't be able to sleep tonight!"

The maid gave her an annoyed look. "Just take a lamp from one of guest room, there's plenty of them if you really need one now."

Lucy seemed to calm down, as she took a deep breath and fiddled with the neck of her shirt.

 _Since when does she wear turtle necks?_

"Yeah, okay, thanks Ms. Spetto," replied the blonde, leaving the room in a hurry, and leaving the maid confused as ever.

* * *

 _Here's part II, and I hope I was able to write something at least mildly scary at best._

 _I had a lot of fun writing the part where Lucy got attacked, and realized that I really liked describing people's fears, and hopefully, I was able to make the readers feel it as well!_

 _The title is a little shout out to one of my favourite songs from The Maine, you guys should check it out!_

 _Thanks to those who reviewed! Leave a comment :)_


	3. What's Left of Us

-: :-

* * *

 **Part III - What's Left of Us**

* * *

-: :-

To say that Lucy never forgot to turn her light on was a understatement. She always had at least two of them on, and despite knowing that it was a waste of power, the nightmares she got from that night forced her to take all the necessary precautions.

It had occurred nearly three years ago, but when night came, the events were as clear as ever in her memory. Those clawed hands and feet, those horns, and those dark eyes and sharp fangs never left her mind, and it took her weeks to finally get back into a seemingly normal sleeping routine. Nowadays, only a few things troubled her, and the nightmares were rare. Plus, the tapping in her walls had disappeared after that night, as if her friend had also disappeared within the monster he had become.

She would still wonder why her _friend_ had attacked her. He had always been nice. A bit playful and annoying, but nonetheless nice. She had never even seen him before that, except when he had saved her from those men, and she wondered if the dark was what triggered his scary appearance like that first night when she was seven.

Lucy looked at her closet, her nose scrunched up in concentration, before she forced herself to relax. It had been years, and she would not dwell on what happened, even if the thing had left her scarred in numerous ways. The mark its teeth left on her neck never fully healed, and the scars took the form of two punctures close to each other. They were small, and yet visible because of their darker colour contrasting with her pale complexion.

A random girl at school had once pointed them out, joking that Lucy had been bitten by a vampire. She believed it for a few days, and even did her research. But that thing was definitely not a vampire. She had met him when the sun was still up, and he had horns and scales. Definitely _not_ a vampire.

There was also the scarf he had left behind. She almost feared approaching the garment, thinking that the monster would appear once again to claim what was his. She had put it in a box underneath her bed, believing that the light inside of her room would keep the thing out of there, and forgot about it.

But how long would she be able to keep the lights on?

-: :-

Sitting on her bed, Lucy bit her lower lip forcefully, cursing her father and trying not to cry.

A week ago, he had told her that she was to marry one of his associates, as she was already past the age of eighteen. In anger, she had screamed at him about who in their right mind would get married at eighteen, and what good father would marry off their daughter without her consent. Needless to say, it had not ended well, and she was sent to her room without possibility of arguing. He was right: she didn't have any power over him, and no one was there to defend her. Her mom would have been outraged at her husband, but she wasn't alive to fight him.

Lucy was truly alone this time.

Hot-headed and rebellious, she had immediately packed a backpack that she hid underneath her bed for a few days until she had the perfect escape plan.

Tonight was the night.

She sighed to herself, picking herself up and standing at the foot of her bed to stretch her legs. She was going to climb through the window, and she did not want to die because she got a cramp halfway down.

She made her way to the door, looking through it for any sign of Ms. Spetto or her father, and silently closed it behind her.

She took the backpack from underneath the bed, glad that it was light, and set it on the bed. She went through it, and added the last things she needed: a picture of her mother, and Happy. She would not leave without the only things she had from her.

When she set the finished backpack on the ground, her foot hit something underneath the bed, and she frowned at it. She bent down, and grabbed what seemed to be a box that she set on the bed to look at what was inside. When she opened it, she gasped in horror and dropped the lid hastily, stricken with fear. It was the scarf from that night that she had completely forgotten.

She couldn't stop herself from taking it between her fingers, marveling at the softness of it, and wondering how such a soft thing could be around the neck of a monster. On impulse, she decided to put it around her own neck. The thing was really soft, and she would be damned to leave it behind. She had suffered to have it, and she deserved it after she had almost died.

She finally grabbed the bag, and threw it down her window with the intention of following it. She set one hand on the window frame, and took a deep breath. The emergency exit stairs were only a few feet from it, and she hoped that she could reach them without too much trouble.

"I can do this," she said with determination.

 _Thump_.

Lucy froze, hearing the all too familiar sound coming from the wall, followed by a mocking chuckle.

 _Thump Thump._

She gasped in horror, hurriedly putting her leg through the open window.

 _Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump Thump-_

The tapping was coming closer to her, and Lucy's second foot followed the first one, until she was standing on the window frame, looking down at the bag tens of feet below her.

 _Screech_.

The unmistakable sound of her closet opening made her swallow in fear, and her gaze alternated between the stairs and the ground beneath her, wondering if she would die if she jumped from that high up. But before she could start climbing, the screeching had stopped, and she sighed in relief. The thing had probably realized that the lights were on, and that it could not get out.

She looked back at the closet, and smirked to herself in triumph. It was open, but nothing was peeking out of it. The thing had retreated, scared of the light.

She laughed to herself, grabbed the wall outside of the window to start climbing, when a sound caught her attention.

 _Pop_.

She frowned. That was new.

 _Pop, Pop._

She looked back, and gasped when she realized that the sound came from the lamps in her room. The bulbs were popping, as if some invisible force was bursting them. She only had three: one in her night light, and two in her lamps. The last one that was still on was her room's light on the ceiling.

Surely it wouldn't be able to pop it.

 _Pop_.

Her eyes widened in fear when the room was plunged into darkness, followed by the sound of clawed feet on the floor of her soon to be former room. She hastily placed both hands on the wall, and cursed herself for not being able to climb down faster, but who would blame her? She wasn't used to this kind of activity, and she was scared of slipping and falling.

Lucy had one foot outside when she was grabbed by the neck, and familiar claws dug into it, yanking her back. She felt blinding pain, and screamed. Next thing she knew, she was being dragged on the floor until she could see the closet's doors on either side of her. The thing turned her around, raising her up by the throat until her feet couldn't touch the ground. She was met by the same terrifying dark eyes, and the sharp fangs that haunted her for numerous nights.

" _ **Never turn the lights off, Lucy dear. Haven't I told you?"**_ it sneered, boring its eyes into hers.

"Let me go," she gasped between breaths, struggling to let the words out.

" _ **Oh but I can't do that. I can't simply let such loneliness go without a taste. You gave me power, so much power. You are so lonely my dear Luce,"**_ it chuckled, a demented look in its eyes. _**"And you took something of mine,"**_ he chuckled, fingering the scarf around her neck.

"Stop, please," she breathed out, grabbing at the hand around her throat. "What-what are you?"

The thing laughed: a full blown terrifying laugh that caused a shudder to pass through her whole body. It must have felt it, because it brought its other hand to her face, tracing her cheek with a sharp claw and leaving a trickle of blood on its wake. A long tongue peeked between its lips, tracing them appreciatively as its eyes followed the trail of blood on her cheek. It licked the metallic liquid, groaning in pleasure, before smearing the red substance on her own lips by tracing them with its tongue. She whined in fear and revulsion, yanking her head back as far as she could. The monster snickered, pressing its lips against hers, and bit down on her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, before tracing a line from her mouth to her ear, spreading the liquid on her face.

" _ **I am the E.N.D."**_

It was the last thing she heard before she was dragged inside the closet, a silent scream on her lips, and her face red with her own blood.

She felt heat, burning heat, before the thing's sharp fangs tore at her throat.

-: :-

 _Heartfilia heiress disappears from family mansion._

Two brown eyes shot open, surprisingly being able to see in the darkness with incredible clearness. The owner gasped for breath, before their hand grabbed at their throat, rubbing an itch they weren't able to scratch.

 _Where am I?_

"Oi, you're finally awake," said a voice. "I thought you were going to sleep forever, Lucy."

When she looked up, a pink haired man was standing there nonchalantly, smiling down gently at her. It was the same thing that had attacked her –killed her-, but it had no horns, no claws, and no scales. He just looked like the plain man she had seen when he had saved her from those drunk guys, only a bit older. He also seemed to have regained his scarf, and had wrapped it around his neck.

"How do you feel?"

Lucy silently pointed at her throat.

"Oh yeah, you'll feel it forever, just like I'll always smell like smoke. Did you know that I died in a fire?" he laughed lightheartedly, before stopping when he noticed her angry glare. "Um, I tore it open. Sorry about that by the way, I can't control myself in the dark," he paused for a moment. "And I told you to keep the lights on!"

She scrunched her eyebrows, looking at him angrily.

"Oh," he chuckled. "My bad, I destroyed them. What can I say, you gave me far too much power. I had never tasted such despair in my life!"

 _Geese, thanks._

She looked down at her hands, wondering why he was being so friendly with her after brutally murdering her with his two hands – or his fangs.

Her eyes widened in confusion: where exactly was she? Was that the afterlife? If so, it was far gloomier and darker than she had hoped.

She suddenly felt a deep burning in her stomach, and was surprised that she actually felt _really_ hungry. She grabbed at her stomach, and yelped in pain. Her fingernails had dug into the skin through her shirt, except that they were much longer than she remembered, almost claw-like.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked when he noticed her pained expression.

"H-Hungry," she rasped out, her voice darker and more pleading than she anticipated. "I want-I want-"

 _I need food. I need misery._

He laughed, crouching in front of her and taking her hand in his. She looked down at their linked hands, and choked when she noticed the scales forming on her skin. The pink haired man noted her astonishment, and grinned at her startled expression.

"Welcome to my world, Luce. I believe we've never formally met in my current form. I'm Natsu."

 _At least she wasn't lonely anymore._

 **FIN**

* * *

 _Whoa, I really enjoyed writing this, and I hope the readers enjoyed it as well!_

 _I initially planned on ending it before Lucy wakes up, but hey, I'm a sucker for people turning evil, and I think Lucy can find solace in becoming one of the things that kept her company._


End file.
